K & Z : To War with Love
by Mearcie
Summary: War. A time of Fighting and Death. But what happens when a girl and guy meet that each have their own secrets? Will they overcome their differences to survive in the mayhem that surrounds them? Read to find out!
1. Prologue Part 1

Him

He runs to the alleyway. His hard leather boots thud against the pavement below him. He is already out of breath; panting against the brick wall. Voices come from the direction of the street; all looking for him as he hides in the shadows. The darkness of them covers him from view. Then the voices suddenly stop and the night grows still. His heart races as he steps from the alleyway. Red covers the streets from corpses as he begins to run again. This has been his life. Always running through the city of constant war, just so he can**…**

_Her_

_Survive. That is all she knows. She lives in a city where only the strongest survive. She wipes the blood off the knife and creeps down the street. She stops midway and holds her breath. Heavy breathing comes from an alleyway nearby. She quietly hides behind a building to watch somebody come out from the alley. She hates the dark shadows that lurk there. The idea of someone lurking behind her, cutting her off from life. That is the worst. She didn't want to be forgotten, especially when she lives in a time of constant death. She would survive. They guy who hid in the alleyway, runs down the street. She decides to follow him. Her gut led her; her_**…**

* * *

**Kaminari_Voice: **all right this is probably going to be a one time interruption of the story unless i have things to explain like i do now. there is two characters. him and her. aka Kole and Zuzu. my friend and i are splitting up the characters. i am kole and she is doing zuzu. the way the prologue works is that "just so he can..." goes with the start of hers.."survive." so they are both thinking of the same thing. get it now... good. all right i won't interrupt anymore. BTW this our own little story, any reference to real things is just a coincidence, for example a poem of a song that we might put in. also this prologue setting is not for the whole book, chapter 1 is a normal chapter.


	2. Prologue Part 2

Him

Instincts drove him on. He keeps running until he comes to a building he is familiar with. He climbs the stairs, avoiding the broken ones that were rotting away. He opens the door to the roof and goes to sit down in his spot that views the chaotic city. He takes the bar out of his jacket that he stole from a store, and starts to nibble on it. The taste is horrible, but he bore with it; it is the only means to survive. He hears a noise and quickly hides behind an air vent. The footsteps thud against the concrete and he grabs his knife**…**

Her

Running at her with a knife in his hand, but with fear in his eyes. She quickly disarms him, putting his own knife against his neck. His breathing is hard, and rough. She feels pity for this man. An emotion she almost forgot. She lowers the knife and goes over to stand on the edge of the building. He sits on the ground for a while behind her, and then moves next to her. She feels confused of why she followed him, and why she hasn't killed him yet like she has done to so many others. She wonders why this weakling fascinates her. The weakling that stares at her now with his own fascination. It is as if she is some rare animal on show. The emotions about this situation that ran through her felt**…**

c o m p l i c a t e d .


	3. Killer Instincts

Kole

I didn't expect for her to disarm me that quickly. She had the knife to my throat in a flash, and I didn't even know it was there until I felt a sting from a small cut it made. She then goes and stands on the edge of the building, as I sit there dumbfounded like an idiot. I couldn't believe a girl beat me. I knew I am not fit to survive in this type of world, but I could usually handle myself. I see that this girl is different, fighting to survive longer than the war. She is wild, untamed, changed by violence. I have seen a lot of people change due to the chaos that now occurs around the city, and when they change it is never for the good.

"Hey, what are you going to do?" I ask wondering if she will kill me, but she continues to stare off at the buildings across the street. "Listen, I don't want any problems. I already have had enough violence for one day." I go and stand next to her to see what she is looking at. I feel her glance at me, but nothing more.

We stare at the people running around below. Gunshots and screams could be heard from all around us. Explosions heard from miles away. "Man, I want to go back before the war. Where it was safe to actually walk through the streets without the threat of getting shot, you know? This war is never going to stop." I try to make decent conversation and light up the situation, but it didn't go so well.

"What the hell do you know?" The girl turns and faces me, stepping from the edge to face me.

"Oh, so she talks." _Shit,_ I think, _and I just got on her bad side._

"Of course I fucking talk. And you know what, I don't like you already. You are just a weak parasite that doesn't know anything about war." She steps toward me as she says this, backing me up against the air vent. I feel a piece of sharp metal jab in my back, but I don't move my eyes off of hers.

"And you think you do. Everyone has felt the same thing. Family, friends, people close to you dying right in front of you; it's not something special."

"Yeah, well it is for me." I am surprised in this calm response, expecting more of a fight.

Trying to change the subject, I reply, "Well, it can't be that bad. I mean at least you weren't the person to start the war. That would suck. They are the most hated person right now, except no one knows who it is."

"Just shut the hell up," The girl says out of the blue, as she stabs the vent with my knife and then goes to stand on the edge again.

"Why the hell do you stand up there anyways?" An explosion goes off near a building close from here. The girl turns to face me just so she can roll her eyes, and then turns toward the explosion.

"Just a tip to survive," she shouts to me over the noise of fire alarms, "I wouldn't stay up here at night. _They_ might get you." Then she falls from the building down to the streets below. I stare after her.

"Are you insane?" I shout below before I head back over to the vent to take my knife which was stuck. I give a couple of hard tugs before it comes out. Then I head downstairs to go follow the strange girl. Whoever she is, she is crazy and maybe psychopathic, but she looks like she can survive. She also looks like she knows the answers to questions I have been wondering about for a while.


	4. Operation Idiot

ZuZu

I land smoothly, looking back up to the top of the building I had jumped off of. It was a jump I had made thousands of times. Of course, it was usually due to me running away from something terrifying. Something that wants to kill me. Never has it been from a teenage boy; an intriguing teenage boy. I don't know why I didn't kill him. I usually do it without thinking. This boy-man had looked startled... So weak... so... so..._innocent_? No, that's not the word. I don't know how to describe him, and I don't really care_. Shit,_ this was supposed to be just a scouting mission. All I have left is my .15 and my butterfly knife. I can't ward them off. I can hear _it_, hmmm... That's odd, they're usually stealthy. Instead they're knocking over trash can lids and... Crap! They must not know I'm here! That's it. I'll hide behind this rubble pile. That's the only good part about war, gives you plenty of places to hide. From my current position crouched behind the ruined town hall building that was blown up by yours truly, once I trapped two hundred enemy reinforcements inside, I can see everything.

Something comes from behind me and I turn to see that it is the boy-man. What the fuck was he thinking making all that noise? And more importantly what the fuck was he thinking following me? I almost _killed_ the kid for god's sakes! That's it. I knew I should have killed him. Stopping gave him the wrong impression. Made him think we are on the same side. We're not. In case you're wondering. I'm not on a side. I just fight to survive. Granted, I haven't killed a human since I was 11, but that doesn't mean I won't start again. I'm still hiding in the darkness as he stumbles and falls. It hurts to suppress the unfamiliar laugh that bubbles up inside my chest. His shoe is untied. How this amateur has survived this war so far is beyond me. Maybe if I stay silent long enough he'll go away. Shit, he's not. What the fuck? He's calling out loud now. Where does he think he is? Hawaii? Some private fucking island where he can just scream at the top of his lungs '_I'm here, possibly the last of the truly human race, I'm alive! Oh and there's this chick hiding near me. But don't worry, we won't fight back when you come and kill us!_'? Granted, he's calling out softly, and wait… what's that?

"Are you here? Please, I saw you jump and run this way. I'm just going to keep looking for you down this alley until you show me where you are." _Shit_, now he's digging through the rubble. There are still mines in there. I see it before he does; the sleek metal of a military grade C-4 mine. I spring up from my hiding spot, not thinking just reacting; grabbing his arm I start to run. We just need to turn the corner and we only have five seconds, if we're lucky. He's starting to protest now. _The bloody idiot!_ Instead of wasting the second we have left, I fling him over my shoulder. Those self-defense classes seriously paid off. If Paco were here he would be laughing and rubbing it in right about now, or more likely after we survived this whole fiasco. But no, he's not here, and hasn't been since before the war started. No time to worry and grieve about deaths I could've prevented. I can hate myself later. There's always plenty of time for self-loathing even if I don't want there to be. Using the boy-man's weight against him, I fling him over my shoulder and diagonally around the corner following right after him. I feel the heat from the explosion seer my exposed skin and char the bit of my shirt it is able to reach. I turn on the boy-man, the fire from the explosion now in my eyes. It takes all my strength not to kill him then and there. I don't know why I'm holding back.

"You bloody idiot!" I seethe. He's visibly shaking, but when he opens his mouth his voice sounds strong and decidedly _not_ afraid.

"How am I supposed to know that there were explosives in that rubble? And I had to look for you. I lost all my friends to a raid on the camp 72 hours ago. I am not going to lose another one." His eyes fill with a sadness few truly deserve to know. For a second, I almost pity him, but then he opens his mouth again. "You don't know what it's like to be alone out here. You don't know how painful it was..." he trails of and I am left to steam in angry hatred of this boy-man.

"Don't know? DON'T KNOW?" I shriek at him, not even caring at this point if anyone hears me. No one has made me this angry since Paco died. No one, except maybe uncle... No, I can't linger. I need to get over the past. But how dare this...this... boy-man, no this _child think_ he is the only one this war has affected? I throw him against the wall, pulling my butterfly knife up to his throat, reminiscent of earlier on the roof top. "Don't EVER suggest that I _don't know_ what it's like to go through _pain _and _suffering_. Don't EVER believe that you are the only one this war has affected, because you're not. And you have nowhere _near _reached the worst pain a human can stand before turning to _them _to end it all," I hiss. He's stuttering when he goes to respond, but yet he still manages to sound haughty,

"I don't know everything. But trust me, I know pain."

"Trust you? I don't even know you. You're just some kid who's following me."

He splutters at my retort. At first I think that he's going to point out the obvious. That I trust him a little, _for who knows what reason, _or otherwise I wouldn't be standing here talking to him. _But no_, his ego controls his mouth.

"Kid? KID? I'll have you know, I am a _MAN_. I'm 19 for god's sakes!" I almost laugh at that again. I don't like it. The way this boy-man, or maybe I should just call him man, makes me feel.

"Alright, you're just some _idiotic man_ who followed me, when every instinct in his body should have been telling him not to..." I trail off, and then ask the important question, the one that determines if he is friend or foe. "Why DID you follow me anyway?"

He stops. When he answers my question it's slowly, almost cautiously, "... I... I...I was curious?" he almost asks me, like he's questioning if that's the correct answer or not. It is, but I don't like it. It's not enough to satisfy _my_ new bubble of curiosity surrounding this man.

"Fine _man_, do you have a name at least? Unless you want me to keep calling you boy man in my head," I joke. I'm _J-O-K-I-N-G!_ What the fuck is going on? I haven't joked in years. I haven't _laughed_ in years either though, but I have come close today, twice. He opens his mouth again, a slight smirk forming on his handsome... Whoa, wait. Back the fucking truck up! Did I just describe him as handsome? No, I haven't gotten sleep in three days; I probably wanted to think something else... Loathsome maybe? Yes. That's it. A smirk formed on his han-loathsome features.

"The name's Kole, with a K. What about you? Got a name? And while we're at it how about how old you are, and where you learned to fight like that. I haven't been beaten by a chick in ages. Not since... No, you _are_ the first chick to beat me."

_The cocky bastard,_ I say to myself. He just called me a CHICK? We are in the middle of a _war_! I have him pinned against a wall with a _knife_ to his _throat_. Don't I deserve a bit more than _chick_? Wait, what do I care? The boy-man, or _Kole-with-a-fucking-K_, is smirking waiting for a response. Next thing you know he's going to wink at me. No, ZuZu, calm down. I open my mouth finally to answer the question, "I'm 17... "

"And your name," he prods almost gently.

"ZuZu," I whisper, "my name's ZuZu."


	5. Lethal Weapon

Kole

"Zuzu," she whispers, "my name's Zuzu." The name is a bit odd, but I don't really care. After all, my name is odd too and we _do_ live in a war where knowing someone's name is a rare opportunity. Usually the one you become close to dies within a few days, or you yourself die, which is why I try my best to know people before they disappear.

Her temper seems to have dissipated, for now, so I take that as a chance to ask her some questions. "So what are you going to do now? Usually people don't run straight into battle…unless you have a death wish that I don't know about." Before she has the chance to reply, we both turn our heads to gunshots, and then a weird howling sound. "What the _hell_ is that?"

"Shit," she says to herself before she turns to me to reply, "That would be the goddamn enemy. I didn't think it would find us that quickly." Then she mumbles something about experiments as she pulls her knife away and tucks it back into her belt. She grabs my hand, and pulls me up a fire escape where we head inside an open second story window. The curtains were drawn, holes in places from bugs and yellow spots in some parts. The inside of the apartment is even worse, smelling close to sewage. Tables and chairs were broken or turned over. The cushion inside the sofas and chairs became nests for the cockroaches and spiders I saw in the corners of the room.

Zuzu kept her head held high as she kept going through the apartment, and I realize that she has only one goal in mind and that is to raid the place. When she heads into the kitchen, I man up and start going through the bedrooms. The howling sound continues outside and every time it does, I hold my breath. I hope Zuzu knows what she is doing. She doesn't seem to care about her own life and that bothers me.

I head into the bathroom next and grab what I can of medical supplies. Most of the bandages were still there, thank god for stupid people. I guess you could say I am not a fighter type like Zuzu, but I do know medical stuff as well as how to salvage supplies. One could say that is the reason why I have survived so far, that I haven't killed anybody. That is a lie. I have killed. The first person I killed was my best friend. That friend was also my girlfriend. She became the lead singer in a band my friends and I and thrown together to get away from life. I was a good kid. I went to school, got home, did my homework, and went to bed. But sometimes good kids can rebel, especially when life isn't as perfect as they would like. That is what I did when I was with my band when my parents argued. It is my fault really, except I am not supposed to say that even though everyone thinks it. My mom was a really good doctor, one of the best in the area really, except she worked long shifts. She came home late, or really early in the morning. My dad was a really good businessman. He was an executive for a corporation so that usually kept him from home for extended periods of time. _So where did it all go wrong?_ Most likely when I…

The howling noise broke my thoughts of distant memories. I should have been concentrating on what is going on in the present than what happened in the past, but I can't help it. My mind wanders all the time to that fateful day when the world fell apart, when my life fell apart. The howling noise grows stronger now, closer. The sound rings through my ears, drawing me to the open window. Standing in the alleyway where we just were is a woman. She looks to be about 30 with long straight black hair. She wore a plain, pale yellow dress whose color was once white. Feathers float around her but that isn't the thing that drew me toward her. That is due to her eyes. _She didn't have any._ Her eyelids were open, but all that is there is pure white.

I am now standing at the edge of the window, ready to jump down below, when I feel something grab the back of my shirt and pull me back. "Let go," I shout. My words came out monotonic as I scramble back to the window. "That woman needs my help." I try to struggle out of the person's grasp, but the person had my arms pinned pretty good. Didn't they understand that the city is dangerous for a woman who is blind? I _had to_ help her no matter what.

"Snap out of it you fucking idiot," the person behind me shouts before they pour something on me. It is cold and makes me turn around to face her.

"What the hell Zuzu?" I scream as thoughts float around inside my head.

"Sure, blame it on me. I wasn't the _fucking idiot_ that was about to jump to his death!" She gives an impatient sound as she puts some distance between us.

"What are you talking about?" All I could remember is that I was in the bathroom packing medical bandages until I heard… "Is it because of…"

"That _bitch _down there," she says as she peers down below. Her gun is pulled out, and she holds it close. "Yeah. She's pissed that I killed her sisters."

"You did what? How could you?" I yell and slam my fist against the wall which creaks with the sudden force.

"She's a monster, a siren to be exact. Her name is Peisinoe, she belongs to the three sisters of Thelxepeia, Aglaope, and her."

"You say what," I sputter completely confused. _This bitch is nuts._ Monsters. Sirens. What's next? "That is impossible; monsters don't exist. I'm also pretty sure if I have my mythology right that siren's live in _water_."

"Ha," she scoffs, "you wish." She sits down on the edge of the window looking down below. Her eyes peering down, looking on as a predator would its prey. "Monsters have been real. You just haven't noticed anything until now. Nice job with the mythology, but your off," a smirk appears on her face as she turns to face me. "Sirens are technically more of flightless bird. They each have their own specific methods and hunting grounds. Sure they prefer the water, but times are different now. They can hunt whenever. Down there, Peisinoe is also known as the mind persuader. You have already experienced that. Her voice persuades you to go to her whether it is to help her or you're her lover. Doesn't matter really." I think back to how I don't remember anything after that howling noise. "You're one lucky son of a bitch, I will tell you that. If I wasn't here, you would have had your heart ripped out and eaten by Miss Bird Bitch down there."

I stare at her with my jaw clenched, and my hands that shook I hid in my sweatshirt. Somehow I could believe her, but another part of me thought she is crazy. If this woman is really a Siren, then how would we defeat it? We can't just go in shooting without a plan because if it really howls again, it might get both of us. Although it wouldn't surprise me if Zuzu had a plan, "So what do we do _expert_?"

Zuzu looks at me with a really sadistic look, and I get a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. "We give it what it wants and then…"she says as she throws me some weapons she has collected from her bag, "we kill it."


	6. End Game

ZuZu

It's not my first time fighting a siren; I've done it before... But, this is the first time I've had _bait_. Usually it's just me and a weapon against the siren. And it's not pretty for either of us. Last time she clawed up my stomach so badly that I barely made it out alive, and I still have the scars. Their not hard to kill, you just have to know their _sweet_ spot. Every creature has a sweet spot. For sirens it's their teeth. Not their humanoids teeth, their siren teeth. They only come out when they are hunting, so if male prey comes into view or if they have sliced you up so badly that you look helpless. I prefer to use bait with creatures where their sweet spot only pops up during hunting, but usually I don't find people _idiotic_ enough to fall for the sirens charms. Most people already know _what_ they're fighting against so they have ways to avoid the sirens charms.

Everyone else was already dead. Except for _this_ guy. (Again, how the _hell_ did he survive?) Whatever, plan time. I tell Kole to stand on the balcony again, but this time I take two cotton balls from his hands (why does the kid have cotton balls, I mean seriously, why would you think to grab those rather than the very nice steel knives in the kitchen? What is _wrong_ with this guy?) and stuff them in his ears. He's trying to stop me; trying to take them out. I slap his hands away; put my finger over my lips, and mouth _'shut the fuck up.'_ He looks at me. For a second he doesn't understand, but then my message makes it through his thick head. I push him towards the window and throw him out onto the balcony. From the little alcove I had ducked into, I could see the sirens smile. A hideous spreading of the teeth too large for the body she currently inhabits. I can't watch from up here; I have to get the job done. I run quickly, and silently, down the stairs of the abandoned building. Getting down to the open front door, I see the siren clearly. The body itself is what would have been considered beautiful, before the war. But I know the thing inside is not. The thing inside is hideous. A terrifying creature who preys on human lust. She's singing still, and suddenly my mind flashes back to the raptured look that had spread across Kole's face at the sound. I felt a sharp ping in my heart. It felt like the tip of a dagger just barely skimming the soft tissue of my heart. I ignore it, deciding to classify it as nerves because of the fight that is about to happen.

By this point the siren had grown her teeth in. Her smile shows the sharp pointed tips. All I have to do is get her on the ground and punch out her teeth. Simple. I took in a deep breath. Once her teeth are removed all I have to do is decapitate her. Kole would be safe. There's the ping again. Right, one thought at a time. Get the teeth out, she's weak. Take the head off, she's dead. One last deep breath for luck… I jump out, surprising the siren that is intent on her prey. Now that I'm closer, I notice it looks like it hasn't eaten for weeks. A siren _starving_? In the middle of a _war_? But I stop thinking about it. Instead I whisper '_good_' to myself. I jump her, she falls backwards, I feel the claws sink in, but I don't care because I've got her teeth out. They are lying on the ground. Good, Mia can use those. Now just to take of her head. One more breath and my sharp blade slices through, thoroughly decapitating her. The body is no longer clearly female. Instead it's the ugly, wrinkled, featherless body of the creature a siren is. I scoop up the teeth pocketing them then turn and beckon for Kole to come down.

My stomach hurts. I look down, and now realize the siren caused more damage than I thought. Great I grumble to myself. So now I _need_ Kole. Great. That should _really_ help his ego out.

When Kole gets down the stairs I beckon him to me, not really being able to pick myself up against the wall I'm slouched against. He's staring at my stomach. _Dear God! _I hope he doesn't faint at the site of blood. Then I'm screwed. But he doesn't faint. Instead he walks over. He opens his mouth about to say something. Probably some smartass comment about the fight that just went on. But I interrupt him. I'm not in the mood for sarcasm.

"Can you please just help me walk? I'll direct you back to...headquarters." For lack of a better term I have to call it headquarters. We never got around to naming it. Something about that war going on around us.

Instead of helping me stand like I asked, he bends down and taking a medical roll in his hands, starts to wrap it around my torn up stomach. Looking up at me he says, "Shut up Z. I can make it so you can walk by yourself." Then he puts the medical tape in his mouth, carefully ripping it and then carefully ties it off. Wow, it _is_ more comfortable. Not healed, but comfortable enough to move without too much pain. I'm about to thank him when I realized what he said.

"Z? Really?"

"What? It's way easier to say than Zuzu."

"What? Two syllables too big a word for you?" I ask smirking slightly. It takes him a second to realize I'm teasing him. By the time he does, we're at the entrance to the hide out. You can't see it if you don't know it's there, which is probably why he looks so confused. I reach down and find the hidden pillar with the lock in it. Carefully taking my butterfly knife out of my belt I trace the word '_praelia_' across the soft sandstone. It glows for a second, and then opens to a small whole in the wall just big enough for me and Kole to climb through. We step through, and I turn to look at him smiling,

"Welcome, to the resistance," I say proudly.


	7. Awaiting Friendships

Kole

As soon as Z opens the doors to the hideout, I knew I am in for a real treat. We slide in through the hole in the wall that Z opened. She tries to hide the password from me, but I saw it. After all, how can u not notice something glowing on the ground? She leads me down a series of underground tunnels and after a while my mind was lost in the labyrinth. I have no choice but to follow Z. She walks confidently down the tunnels; the pain from her wound not slowing her down. It will though, soon, for I would have to stitch the wound close. Bandages would not stop the blood from leaving her body. I know this because my mom was a great doctor, and I had tried to save my already dead girlfriend from the same fate. From the light that flickers in the middle of every intersection of tunnels we cross, I see the dark stain start to spread. And as it spreads, I feel my heart race that she too would end up like my girlfriend even though she is stronger. Soon there is a bright light in front of us that leads us into what appears to be a basement of an old hospital. She presses a code on the side of a gate that unlocks it and I quickly reach down and lift it up to not have her strain herself.

"Thanks," she says grumpily, but I see how relieved she is. "I thought chivalry died when the fucking war started."

"Yeah well your injured and like my mom would say, _don't overdo it_." I mimic my voice to my mom's to try to lighten the mood but it seems it doesn't have that much effect.

"It's a god damn war! But thanks," she huffs out. I follow her into a big room where there were a few people standing around a table like they do in war movies when discussing strategies. "Hey! Everyone, I'm back. This here's Kole." Everyone looks up and gives a small smile. "Now, what's new?" Conversations start again. Each person going over a different strategy with Zuzu, who just nods at each of their ideas.

One girl I believe is Mia talks to Zuzu the most. Z seems to appreciate this girl and I see that she must be the second in command while Zuzu is the leader. There is another girl named Ayla who sits in the corner with a small dagger. She watches everyone intently, and I see her give me a glance out of the corner of her eye. Zuzu shares glances with her a couple times as if agreeing on things without talking.

Two guys were also there. One of them is named Benjamin who could easily remember the maps that were thrown on the table. He rambles off different routes they could take and the obstacles that could get in their way. There were only a couple more people there and I feel like there should have been more. It's a rather small group, but with the war lasting a good five years already most people were already dead or left to the country where some heard it is safer.

"Zuzuuuuuu," comes a childish cry. I see Zuzu smile as a child no greater than six comes running in with a guy following behind her. He eyes me and gives a small nod hello before going over to the rest of the group.

"Hey Charlotte ." Zuzu lifts the child up and sets her on the table. The atmosphere seems to lighten up a bit.

The guy who walked in behind the kid comes and stands next to me. "Hey, the name's Jack. Are you the new recruit?"

"Yeah, name's Kole with a K. I followed Z over there."

"She actually let you follow her. Dude how did you get on her good side?"

"Don't know. She saved my life though."

"And you saved mine," Zuzu speaks up angrily, not even turning around to stare at us. "Now can you guys come over here and put in your input on these plans. I want to make sure they are perfect." Zuzu turns towards us, only staring at us with one eye as we make our way closer to the table.

"Zuzu, chill, its not like the war is really going anywhere."

"Next time you tell me to chill Jack will be the last time you are breathing air." Jack puts hs hands up in defense and Charlotte lets out a small laugh.

"Why don't you introduce everyone first?" Mia inputs looking up at me. "You probably haven't gotten all our names yet."

"Not really, but I do know your Mia, this is Charlotte, over there glaring at me in the corner is Ayla. The one able to memorize the maps is Ben and this is Jack."

"Wow, that's pretty good." Mia shares a look with Zuzu who calms down a bit.

"That over there is B-meu, real name is Bartholomeu who is Mia's little brother," Z says as a skinny teenager resembling Mia walks into the dim light and out of the darkness that surrounds most of the room. He held another boys hand a bit tightly. "The one next to him is Robert, but he prefers Bert, and is Carlton's younger brother. They are in a relationship so if you don't like it you can leave." Robert gave me a small smile and I nod at him. If Zuzu was in a better mood and not taking charge at the moment he looks like the type of guy who can't stop chatting while B-meu looks like one of those shy, quiet guys that get done what they need to. "Where is Carlton anyway?"

"Right here, so you can keep your pants on Zu although I am pretty sure half the guys would like to see them off."

"Where the hell were you?"

"In my lab, where else?" He says that like it was some stupid ridiculous question.

"And?" Z asks as if she is waiting for something.

"Success. I was able to draw out the negative effects and make the powder perform perfectly."

"Do you think you could have fifteen done by tonight?"

"Hmm," he thinks as he tosses up the makeshifted bag of powder, "I could if I had some help. You are cutting it close though."

"I wouldn't expect anything less from my magic expert."

"Now you are flattering me?" He says and puts a hand to his heart melodramatically.

Zuzu must have noticed my weird look and gives me a smirk. I narrow my eyes at her but the amusement in her eyes only begins to increase. "Hey Carlton! Why don't you take the new kid? He will need his fair share of experiencing magical experiments. Plus he is going to be our doctor so don't harm him more than you need to."

"Yes ma'm," Carlton says excitedly and turns toward me. Jack backs a few steps away and I hear Ayla chuckle in the corner. He comes over to me as if I was an experiment. "Seems pretty strong minded to me. I accept the challenge." The mad scientist grabs me by the elbow and pulls me out of the room. After a couple of yards of yanking me around he stops, turns around, and stares at me dead in the face

"W-What?" I ask nervously, afraid of the mad scientist in front of me.

"How did you get Zu more open and nice?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Hmm, we will see about that," he continues to walk down the corridor and I follow him. I hadn't noticed it before but he had a small limp as he walked. "So you are going to be our doctor. I guess that means you are just as observant as a scientist meaning you probably noticed my limp already. It's nothing. You can't fix it, no one can which is probably lesson number one for you doctors that you can't save everyone. It happened day six of the war when the big bomb went off on south side. I had my share of people look at it." He keeps heading down the hall and I start to smell smoke. "Don't worry, there isn't a fire." I start to nervously suspect that maybe he could read my mind.

We walk into the lab and Carlton pushes me out of the way just in time for a beaker to crash into the wall behind me. "What the hell was that?"

"I forgot. Where are my manners? This is Gumdrop," he says pointing to an oversized hamster/lizard. "Careful, she gets cranky sometimes but other than that she is a real sweetheart." Carlton goes over to scratch behind her (?) makeshift horns and underbelly of his little pet. I stay where I am as the creature eyes me. "If you stand there like a frightened animal and she will kill you."

"Oh," I say and move towards…Gumdrop. It still eyes me with one of its eyes until I pet her. Then both eyes are closed and a content purring noise starts.

"Oh goody, she likes you. I thought you would be a goner." He gestures me to a table and shows me what we need to do. Gumdrop belly crawls until she finds a nice perch to doze off on. Even though her eyes were closed the small ears she had cocked back and forth listening to us work.

Carlton was able to take a dark sprites heart which was the core of its dark magic and dehydrate it into dust. Then he was able to take some dragon saliva to heal the powdered heart into a soft red dust. The process had taken him so long because every time he tried to kill a dark sprite properly they bit him where their venom made him be frozen solid. Thankfully for little Gumdrop he was able to unfreeze in the nick of time to recapture the dark sprite before it freed itself into the facility. For a scientist he seems clumsy and unorganized, but I guess he was as good as Z was going to get.

I decide to help him out, glad that my mom was able to teach me some medical stuff so that I can help an not be a total burden on Z and her group. After eight hours we finally finish purifying the dark magic and start to tweak it with the properties that Z had wanted. Ten powders of temporary invisibility and five for a stinky fire bomb. The only thing I wondered know was what/where/when/who Z was going to use these on.


End file.
